NLC, TUC Demand Living Wage, Reject Tax On Minimum Wage

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have said they will reopen negotiations with the Federal Government over a new national minimum wage, warning that Nigerian workers can no longer cope with the rising cost of living.

NEWSNGR reports that the unions said inflation, currency depreciation and rising costs of food, transport, housing and healthcare had continued to erode workers’ real incomes, making the current wage framework inadequate.

The position was contained in a joint address delivered by the labour centres at the 114th International Labour Conference in Geneva on Monday.

The NLC and TUC said they would push for what they described as a “genuine living wage” to replace the current minimum wage arrangement, which they insisted no longer reflected the country’s economic realities.

Nigeria’s current minimum wage of ₦70,000 was signed into law on July 18, 2024, after an agreement between organised labour and the Federal Government.

President Bola Tinubu formally announced the wage on July 19, 2024, while it took effect on July 29, 2024.

Although the agreement initially provided for a three-year review cycle instead of the previous five-year arrangement, the Federal Government later announced in January 2025 that the wage would be reviewed every two years, placing the next review in 2026.

The labour leaders said they would formally open discussions with the government ahead of the July 2026 renegotiation deadline to avoid delays that had affected previous wage reviews.

“The current Act expires early next year, and we have announced that renegotiation will commence by July 2026 to avoid the painful delays of the past. As soon as we leave here, we shall write again to the government demanding the commencement of the process for renegotiating the national minimum wage,” the unions said.

Unions Reject Wage Tax

The labour centres also rejected any proposal to tax the minimum wage or impose additional fiscal burdens on low-income earners.

They warned that taxing the minimum wage would worsen poverty and deepen hardship at a time many Nigerians were struggling to meet basic needs.

“We demand nothing less than a genuine living wage that reflects today’s harsh economic realities. We also demand immediate relief measures by governments at all levels until a new minimum wage is signed into law. We reject outright any attempt to tax the minimum wage or impose further burdens on the poor,” the unions said in their communiqué.

The unions stressed that the next round of negotiations must go beyond nominal wage increases and focus on protecting real incomes, which they said had been steadily weakened by inflation.

They also urged federal and state governments to introduce short-term relief measures pending the conclusion of negotiations, warning that further delay could heighten industrial tension across the country.

Insecurity Affecting Workers

Beyond wage concerns, organised labour used the Geneva platform to raise alarm over insecurity, unemployment and rising poverty in the country.

The unions said insecurity in many parts of Nigeria had made commuting increasingly dangerous for workers, with killings, abductions and displacement affecting productivity and livelihoods.

According to them, nearly 2,000 people were killed in the first quarter of the year, while millions had been displaced and many communities disrupted by violence.

They warned that worsening insecurity could force workers to stay away from work as a survival response, adding that this could escalate tensions beyond traditional labour action if not urgently addressed.

The labour leaders also said that about 65 per cent of Nigerians, estimated at roughly 150 million people, were currently living in multidimensional poverty.

They blamed the situation on inflation, job losses and declining purchasing power, arguing that while macroeconomic reforms were aimed at stabilising the economy, they had yet to translate into improved living standards for ordinary citizens.

Labour Eyes 2027 Elections

As the 2027 general elections approach, the unions said they were developing a charter of demands to guide their engagement with political actors and determine the candidates they would support.

They said only political actors who commit to improved security, functional public services, wage reforms and protection of labour rights would receive the support of organised labour.

The labour movement also raised concerns over alleged interference in union affairs in some states, accusing certain governments of undermining democratically elected labour leadership structures.

The unions vowed to resist any attempt to weaken union independence or impose external control on labour organisations.

As the current wage regime approaches its 2026 review window, the NLC and TUC said their priority remained securing a wage structure that reflects present economic realities and protects workers from further erosion of income.

They maintained that the outcome of the coming negotiations would determine whether Nigerian workers receive what they called a “living wage” or continue to endure worsening economic hardship.